Stevon Cook, 28, a candidate for the San Francisco Board of Education election on November 4, took some time to talk with me about the crucial debate in education over how to help failing schools, along with other issues prominent in the campaign.

Outspoken civil rights activist and Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers' conception of the downtrodden includes students coerced into going along with a pledge they don't wish to say in order to avoid bullying from peers for their nonconformity.

For the next week, we schlepped Henry on the subway every morning. This meant that either my husband or I got to work late, but it saved him the grueling trip to school. Meanwhile, the horror stories started to come in.

Bullies are universally loathed because their casual cruelty leaves a scar on your soul. But NJ's exhaustive law, which elevates everyday conflict into a state of emergency, seems both ill-conceived and a waste of scarce resources.